Popular Comics #27

We've finally reached April of 1938 and this issue from Dell leads off with Dick Tracy and a trapped safe. The Purple Cross Gang kept a safe so obvious it even said "Purple Cross records" on the front of it. Of course, the safe was rigged to explode with a dozen sticks of dynamite -- that's at least 24d6 damage -- with the only safe way to open it being to cut the power to the room it was in (since the trap was electrically wired).

Spooky how the Asp just seems to spring up out of that bush, eh? (Yes, I realize he probably stepped out from behind the tree behind him and moved forward.) More important is the failed morale save from the mobsters. Pulling guns on mobsters will require a morale save from Fighters, but these mobsters aren't looking at the guns, they're looking at the Asp himself. This is the intimidate power of the Mysteryman class, forcing a morale save just with a look.

Another trophy item idea is the master switch -- something that turns off all of one type of hi-tech item -- machines, robots, guns -- that were created the same way -- in the same factory, by the same inventor, from the same kit.  It seems to have a generous range, maybe 200 ft.?

I haven't included a page of This Curious World in a while.  This page introduces us to the peccary, the only wild pig indigenous to the Americas.  It's not very big -- certainly no boar -- and more the size of a giant rat. I'd only give them 1/2 HD.


(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

Popular Comics #19

I'll start with talking about the Dick Tracy pages from this issue, not pictured here. A playing tip is that Tracy and his fellow cops dab phosphorescent calcium sulfide on their noses so they can spot each other in the dark, while not giving their location away like entering a dark hideout with flashlights blazing would do.

Japanese dope smuggler Toyee tries to hide from Tracy by being sown into a big dead fish. So if you see fish hanging from the ceiling in a hideout, make sure you punch them a few times and listen for "ow!"

Toyee wore a ring with a secret compartment for a poison capsule, potassium cyanide specifically. Something else to look for when capturing mobsters.

Alignment doesn't get discussed in comic books often, but here's a perfect discussion of what constitutes Law from this page of The Nebbs.

Hmm...a mini-aircraft carrier (though only able to carry one aircraft) that flies through the air thanks to helicopter propellers? Is this the granddaddy of Jack Kirby's Helicarrier for Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD?

Although this page refers to Galapagos iguanas as "giant marine iguanas", they're actually not that large. I wouldn't stat at giant iguana, then, as anything over 1+1 Hit Dice.


(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

Popular Comics #18

Evidence that the best traps are the ones that are activated by your players' own curiosity -- "best" in that they don't appear arbitrary, or seems like the Editor is out to get them.

I've written before about cover, and soft cover vs. hard cover, but maybe that's too little to cover situations like this, when Pat is behind a window with most of his body shielded from harm. Should penalties to hit instead be based on percentage of cover, or is that not abstract enough? Things to ponder...

Like the importance of knowing the range on missile weapons, as evidenced here.

There is a long tradition stretching back to mythology of imagining ways to make man fly. It seems a little odd how often this keeps coming up after the invention of the airplane, but here we have an invented trophy item that makes people float in the air.

Killer whales -- 30 HD, with 10-sided dice? Not something you want to fight unless you're really high level.

Streaky is really observant. In some games, this would come from using the skill system to roll-play the situation, but another way to play this is just to ask smart questions, as the player, and have the Editor come up with smart answers.

Cars that can turn into airplanes are useful trophies. Tolls are terrible things and, apparently, could be as high as 50 cents back in the '30s!


(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

The Funnies #4 - pt. 2

While a stone age campaign based on Alley Oop would be more like modern-day living with a stone age backdrop, a campaign more like Og Son of Fire would deal with more realistic issues, like hunting to survive, and navigating threats like superstitious people and the constant threat of stoning.

Should "sinister stranger" be a mobster type? These two are obviously some type of hoodlum.  Perhaps sinister hoodlums would try to corrupt others into working with them.  Looks like they have a vamp in their "secret hideout" too.

Don Dixon falls into a trap; the bridge is rigged so that the ropes can be pulled taut enough to snap (mechanically, from a remote distance), dropping anyone on it into the water below (it looks to me like a 30' drop).  Not sure what the bad guys mean by "microscope" here, unless they meant "television"...

Look-outs are a mobster I should have added ages ago.  A look-out would not be much in a fight, so maybe 1-1 HD at best, but they were be hard to surprise -- 1 in 6 only.

Added to the bridge-drop trap is that the water Don was dropped into is a "raging torrent" that leads to a whirlpool. A whirlpool is a pretty serious deathtrap, maybe save or die every turn until rescued.  I can't be sure why the water is warmer around the whirlpool, but can guess that Don might have wet himself...

H&H does not have much for dangerous fungi, a niche that the honey death mushrooms introduced in The Trophy Case v. 2 no. 6 was meant to fill.

Elks have not yet been statted for H&H, but would likely have 5 HD.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Funnies #3

This outing from Dell begins with a particularly useful (to us) installment of Stranger than Fiction. Sea serpents could easily be real in a Hideouts & Hoodlums campaign (indeed, sea monsters of fantastic size are statted in Book II: Mobsters & Trophies), but what if you wanted to run a campaign in a more mundane/less fantastic game world?  Then you might want to consider what all those sea serpent sightings actually are.

Giant squids were statted in Supplement II: All-American.  Seals are not generally dangerous, but some have reportedly been known to play aggressively in ways that can cause harm, such as grabbing a swimmer and dragging him under, or flipping a small boat. I would give a gray harbor seal 2 Hit Dice, with the ability to bite for 1-6 points of damage.  Porpoises are smaller, 1-1 HD, and would only bite to defend themselves for 1-4 points of damage. Oarfish are big, but harmless fish, not important for statting.  Same with flying fish, despite the illustration of one mid-air slapping someone.

Bronc Peeler and Coyote Pete are reminded of why I statted bulls to have 5 HD here. I would say that a bull could charge and gore for up to 3-10 points of damage.

On the Range reminds us that horses can be dangerous too. Horses should be 4 HD animals, able to trample or stomp on a prone opponent for 2-8 points of damage.  A poor encounter reaction roll from a bronco might make a rider have to save vs. science or be thrown from his saddle too.

Captain Easy here gives us two playing tips: if you're traveling by boat, leave a rope over the side in case you get knocked (or thrown) overboard. Also, if you're going to attack a group of men with just your feet, try to get the drop on them through a skylight so you get the +1 situational modifier to hit for attacking from above.

Now this is a complex fight scene, so let me break it down.  In turn 1, Easy gets two attacks with his fist because all parties involved are fighting in unarmed combat. My wording in the combat rules implies that both attacks have to be against the same opponent, but an Editor can be afforded some leniency here. Flavor text can "edit" the scene so that one swing hits both men, but game mechanics-wise, it was still two different attacks.

Also in turn 1, three men at once try to grapple Easy.

In turn 2, Easy goes first and flips one of the three grapplers off of him. This could be done one of two ways: Easy either grappled back and the flip was a successful counter-move, or he attempted a special maneuver and needed to hit his one opponent by 5 or more.  It doesn't really matter which one Easy's player chose.

Using missile weapons into a melee is a dangerous proposition; the rules state that the victim of a successful hit will be a random melee combatant.  In a three-on-one battle, then, Easy only has a 25% chance of being hit by the thrown dagger, assuming the to hit roll was successful.

Firehoses as a special weapon was first discussed here.  It does no damage in this particular instance, but the target must save vs. science or be knocked back 5'.

This is still true about ants, though the number of deaths per year is more like 20 now in the 21st century (progress?).  I am hesitant to stat ant swarms as a mobster, though, since ant swarms are pretty slow and easy to outrun. They are more useful as a living trap for victims tied up, buried up to their necks, or unfortunate enough to be sleeping in the wrong place. Let's say the victim would have to save vs. science each turn or take 1-3 points of damage until dead.



The Alley Oop featured monsters are arsinoetherium (an 11+1 HD rhino ancestor), chalicotherium (a 9+1 HD creature, with d12 Hit Dice, that was like a giant horse that could move like a bear), dinotherium (an enormous elephant ancestor with 11+1 HD of the d20 variety!), and dodo (which weren't very big or heavy, so maybe 1/3 of a Hit Die).  Remember that, in a fantastic H&H setting, none of these had to have gone extinct!

First correctly drawn crossbow in comic book history??

The invaders through themselves at the gates, the defenders throw themselves on the gates to hold them fast -- who wins?  Book III: Underworld & Metropolis Adventures explains that there is a 1-2 chance (on 1d6) of smashing through a stuck door, but that doesn't allow for active resistance or any kind of opposed mechanics. Or does it?  What if both sides just rolled the same die, one for opening doors and the other for closing doors?  The first side to lose the roll-off loses control of the doors/gates.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Funnies #2 - pt. 1

Today's instructor will be Captain Easy, and the class is Combat Tactics 101.  Here, we see Easy in a rare instance of running from a fight.  Why?  Because he wants better odds when he turns around to face them in melee than allowing them three attacks per turn for every one of his.

Now, in Hideouts & Hoodlums, everyone runs at a constant Movement rate, so Easy actually gets lucky here that two of his pursuers slow down, perhaps looking for another route they can use to cut him off.

Blizzards, diamonds, pirates, whirlpools, and Nikky Eskota's thugs?  It reads like a wandering encounter table!  Pirates and thugs are both statted in Book II: Mobsters & Trophies.

The Canada Lynx would warrant a 1/2 Hit Die. There is nothing quite like it statted for H&H yet, but I am putting together an adventure module which may feature bobcats, using stats that would be identical for a lynx.



The Alley Oop animal of the day is the diatryma, also known as the gastornis.  I wouldn't want to run into this flightless bird in a dark alley, or cave, as I'd assign it 2 HD, given its size and weight.  Another animal of the day is eunotosaurus, a giant prehistoric tortoise.  Actually, I'd choose to hide behind the diatryma if I saw this coming, as the eunotosaurus was massive enough it would have 8 20-sided Hit Dice!

Tailspin Tommy, or actually his enemies, are in a particularly dangerous hideout. "Everything here operates by switches an' buttons" -- but one random button will trigger a huge stockpile of TNT to be exploded on the spot! 

This page of The Adventures of 'Spargus and Chubby introduces us, not only to a man-sized (2 HD) robot, but a dog-sized robot (1+1 HD?), and a horse-sized robot (5 HD?) big enough for two people to ride in. Would it have any benefits, though, other than moving inside partial cover?




(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Funnies #1 - pt. 2

Freckles and His Friends reminds us that a hidden land can be placed anywhere so long as the entrance is inaccessible; here, you have to swim 10' deep and under a ledge to reach this mini-hidden land where cougars nuzzle with lambs (cougars being statted in Supplement III: Better Quality).

This also illustrates the importance of everyone in the party carrying a flashlight, like if you fall into deep, murky water and the others need to see how far down you sank.



Yeah, okay, Ben Webster.  It is left up to the Editor's discretion if Indians should ride around topless on horseback in the 20th century (and be statted as Natives, from Book II: Mobsters & Trophies). 

If nothing else, this page illustrates the importance of carrying binoculars -- it might give you a head start when someone is chasing you!

Don Dixon and company encounter a constrictor snake -- with a twist!  Considered sacred by the local natives, killing the snake brings their wrath.

Tad of the Tanbark illustrates the usefulness of having an elephant Supporting Cast Member.

This half page of This Curious World shows the water buffalo, an animal that was on every continent but North America and Antarctica by 1940. Water buffalo fighting (like bull fighting) is practiced in some Asian countries. I would stat them as 4+1 Hit Dice, using d12 dice.

Mutt and Jeff put the value of a fur coat at $60 or less (oops, I had made them far more valuable on the starting equipment list!).

Most every comic book for 45 years had a page like this in it. Pocket telescopes, microscopes, high-powered air pistols, luminous paint, whoopee cushions -- smart players should find ways to use all this stuff!

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

 

Famous Funnies #23

We rejoin Captain Easy in the middle of his battle with a giant octopus -- armed with a saw!  And if you thought Roy Crane was going to shy away from that kind of violence...

Although this page made me laugh out loud, carefully guarding a baggage camp is a serious matter for hideout delving far from civilization.  The balance between a generous Editor and a tough Editor may hinge on matters like this.  How tough do you make it for your Heroes?



The Alley Oop animal of the day is platybelodon.

 Hairbreadth Harry gives us another example of a death trap.  This one is a soundproof, airtight room that has poison gas pumped into it.  The solution, here, is to light a match by the door because the gas happens to be flammable. If you survive the explosion damage, you just walk out past the busted door!

Note that poison gas canisters may be a trophy item lying around hideouts, but non-Chaotic Heroes should not be using poison.

Casual readers of Flying to Fame could be forgiven for thinking that they are here observing the Aviator stunt, Shoot Gas Tank. However, that stunt exists for the difficult task of shooting a plane, in flight, at a distance (though perhaps the original text was not clear enough on that...).  With three sub-machine guns, at this distance, the Editor would have to be one of those aforementioned tough Editors to let that plane get away unscathed.

This feature will introduce us to many animals that may or may not belong in Hideouts & Hoodlums.  A tapir, for example, is probably a 3 HD animal-mobster type with a bite attack -- but, really, how often is an Editor really going to stock a scenario with wild tapirs?

Jaguars -- now those are more likely.  They were statted in H&H Book III: Better Quality.

Seaweed Sam may have had a frenzied narrative and lousy art, but it's back again with another intriguing H&H idea. Midas Touch, as a Magic-User spell?  Maybe a 3rd level spell (if it's non-permanent)?

The more I study Jane Arden, the more convinced I am that she can only be statted as a Mysteryman!  Here she must be using the stunt of picking pockets to plant evidence. I doubt I would even allow a non-Mysteryman Hero to manage that without being noticed, even with a successful surprise roll.

She also made her saving throw vs. plot to see through the old glasses-disguise trick.

Jane Arden is sometimes required reading for any H&H players involved in an investigation.  There is a lot of publicly available information for Heroes to take advantage of.

 Lastly, Flight reads like a catalog of what flying hi-tech transport trophies you do NOT want your Heroes getting until high levels. A Boeing bomber could decimate an entire hideout without even dropping its whole payload! 

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum at http://digitalcomicmuseum.org/index.php?dlid=23800)